


family

by casdoms (moffwithhishead)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean's Birthday, Gen, M/M, background dean and cas, everybody is suddenly alive, focuses more on Feelings, set in canonverse but not really canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 21:57:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3224918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moffwithhishead/pseuds/casdoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mary Winchester is standing in the bunker's kitchen. </p><p>She's wearing a ridiculous Star Trek apron (and Dean immediately suspects Charlie has something to do with its existence in the bunker) and humming along to the radio while she cooks.</p><p>Cas is sitting on the counter next to the fridge, nursing his coffee with a small smile on his face. </p><p>They both look like this is the most normal thing that's ever happened, like it happens all the time.</p><p>Like Dean's mom who has been dead for 32 years isn't standing in their kitchen cooking them breakfast.</p>
            </blockquote>





	family

**Author's Note:**

> so. let's just pretend that inexplicably, everybody shows up at the bunker for dean's birthday. cas and charlie somehow have a hand in it. let's just roll with that idea. okay? okay.
> 
> oh and dean still has the MoC. because, well - the end conversation needed to happen for me, okay?
> 
> mostly background dean and cas but there's some explicitly couple-y stuff in there.

On his 36th birthday, Dean wakes up to the smell of pancakes, bacon and coffee. The other side of the bed is cold, which means Cas has been up for a while, and hopefully he's  _not_  the one making the bacon (it  _always_  come out too crispy). 

Dean yawns and pushes himself out of bed reluctantly. He squints at the clock without his glasses and can barely make out that it's already 10:30. 

No wonder they already started breakfast without him.

The floor is cold when he finally gets up and shuffles off to the bathroom. He looks ridiculous with his hair all fluffy and messed up and a small pout on his face but he's too tired and hungry to care.

He makes a pitstop back in their room and grabs his glasses and a hoodie before making his way towards the kitchen.

The radio is on and Dean smiles a little sadly because he remembers his mom used to cook like that. Radio on, a little later than breakfast should be eaten and with way too much food.

They never had a lot of money but he remembers his mom made sure that Dean had more than enough food. 

The memories distract him enough that when he gets to the doorway of the kitchen, he thinks he's hallucinating the sight in front of him. 

Mary Winchester is standing in the bunker's kitchen. 

She's wearing a ridiculous Star Trek apron (and Dean immediately suspects Charlie has something to do with its existence in the bunker) and humming along to the radio while she cooks.

Cas is sitting on the counter next to the fridge, nursing his coffee with a small smile on his face. 

They both look like this is the most normal thing that's ever happened, like it happens all the time.

Like Dean's mom who has been dead for 32 years isn't standing in their kitchen cooking them breakfast. 

He must make some sort of noise because they both turn to look at him abruptly. Cas looks sheepish and on edge, like he's not sure what Dean's reaction is going to be. Mary's entire face has broken out into a huge grin and Dean can feel his heart clench in his chest with how much he missed that smile.

The first word he's said to his mom - his real mom - since they were back at the old house and she saved them is clipped and his voice cracks with decades worth of emotion, "Mom?" 

Apparently his feet are moving faster than his brain is at the moment because before he realizes what he's doing, he's standing with her at the stove.

Mary's smile is soft this time, understanding, and she reaches up to cup his cheek gently as she murmurs, "Hi baby... happy birthday." 

He pulls her into the biggest bear hug he can manage and hides his face in her hair for a moment, because he can and because he's not small enough to hide his face in her chest anymore. She smells exactly like he remembers - like home, like love, like something that's been missing in his life since he was four years old. 

She wraps her arms around him just as tightly and rubs his back, "It's okay baby, I got you..." 

Dean feels a set of lips press a soft kiss to his temple and he lets out a small sob. "It's okay to cry," Mary's soft voice reminds him gently.

He's not ashamed to admit that he breaks down and starts crying like he's three again and he doesn't want his mom to leave.

\----------------------------------

When they finally sit down to eat everything's a little cold and the bacon's a little burnt but Dean's still smiling like an idiot.

His mom is alive and there and she keeps wiping the syrup off of Dean's cheek with her own spit and her thumb. He whines about it but he feels like crying all over again.

When Sam gets back from the supermarket he ends up dropping all of the ingredients for Dean's birthday pie on the floor.

Dean squawks a little when there's suddenly egg yolk all over his fucking kitchen (and good lord he's not sure if they even have enough clorox in the bunker to clean all of this up) but the look of disbelief on Sam's face is more than enough to make up for it. 

Cas keeps close to him the whole time they're eating and Dean's so immensely grateful because he has no idea how any of this is possible and he's  _terrified_  to ask. 

He insists on cleaning up when he's done eating though, and Mary tuts at him for it, insisting that it's his birthday and she's the one who made the mess.

Dean relents (only after she smacks the back of his head gently and grumbles something about manners) but he hovers around the kitchen while she does it. 

Sam leaves at some point, probably to go collect himself in private.

But Cas stays in the kitchen with them and talks to Mary like it's the easiest thing in the world. Apparently they'd been talking for a while before Dean woke up and hearing his mom laugh at Castiel's terrible jokes makes his whole heart feel like it's going to implode. 

"So," she says as she finishes drying the last plate and sets it in the drying rack, "What do you boys do for fun around here?" 

\----------------------------------------

Dean takes his mom on a tour of the bunker.

He's giddy and jumping around like a little kid as he does it, excitedly dragging her from room to room. She laughs and willingly lets him drag her everywhere.

She gives him a total mom look when he shows her the dungeon and the shooting range, but she beats his record at long-range target practice. Her eyes get comically large when she sees the room that the three of them have decided all of the "potentially cursed and/or deadly" items in the bunker should reside in.

He saves their bedrooms for last to give Sam a little more time (and to make sure Cas had time to pick up their room at least a little). 

When they finally get down there though, Sam is waiting excitedly to show Mary his room and the stuff he's finally started to put in there. It's not a lot, and Sam knows that, but Mary makes a big deal out of everything in a way that makes him want to cry all over again.

Dean sneaks over to his room while she's distracted and finds Cas sitting on their bed with a book in his hands, "Hey..." 

Castiel looks up and smiles, "Hello, Dean." 

He stays standing at the foot of the bed and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, "So... do I want to know?" 

He's worried about a repeat of when Karen came back (and he's trying very hard not to think about how that ended for Jody) but he doesn't want to say anything. With his luck, he'd jinx it by asking. 

Cas smiles coyly, like he knows something, and looks back down at his book, "Just know that your mother is as real as you and me."

There's definitely more to that story and Dean starts to ask but he's interrupted by Mary knocking on the door.

"Sorry," she smiles sheepishly, "Am I interrupting something?" 

"Absolutely not," Cas assures her with a big toothy grin, "I was just telling your son that he has nothing to worry about."

Mary rolls her eyes fondly and goes over to Dean, wrapping an arm around his waist, "I was hoping you would grow out of that worry-wart stage, bug."

Dean blushes at the nickname and whines softly, "Mom, I'm a grown-ass man!" 

She snorts and pats his cheek, "You're always going to be my baby boy, Dean. Now. Show me your room." 

\---------------------------------------

Charlie comes over around lunch time and again, she isn't surprised at all by Mary's presence in the bunker.

Dean wants to be annoyed because apparently everyone but him and Sam knows what the hell is going on and nobody seems to want to share. But he can smell the pie his mom is making in the kitchen and Charlie brings her extended editions of the Lord of The Rings trilogy and it's a little bit harder to be mad.

It should be weirder than it is having his mom there but it isn't. It's like he's a little kid again except this time he's taller than his mom and she keeps lecturing him about eating a more balanced diet. 

The Mark aches under his hoodie throughout the morning but then he remembers his mom is there or she smiles at him or she ruffles his hair a little when she walks by, and it gets buried under the warm feeling in his chest. 

\------------------------------------------

It's four in the afternoon when Benny of all people shows up at the front door of the bunker and Dean's so stunned that he just stands there for a few minutes without saying anything. 

"You gonna let me in?" Benny asks eventually with a small grin.

That's all it takes for Dean to practically tackle him in a hug, laughing in disbelief, "You dumb son of a bitch, how the hell are you here?" 

Benny's grin grows when they step back, "I know people, brother. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it." 

Dean scowls a little but lets Benny push past him and walk into the bunker.

\---------------------------------------

People keep knocking on the front door.

Next is Kevin and Linda with two six packs of Dean's favorite beer and kind smiles on their faces. Kevin punches his shoulder with a grin as he walks by, "Happy birthday, asshole," and Dean feels like he might pass out when the punch actually kind hurts.

Linda hugs him and wishes him a happy birthday before immediately finding her way into the kitchen. Her and Mary seem to hit it off spectacularly.

Then it's Jody, Alex, Claire and Donna, and Dean is so happy to see someone who isn't back from the dead that he pulls all four of them into tight hugs. Alex looks a little annoyed, Claire looks like she wants to tell him to fuck off but Jody and Donna hug him back just as tightly and tell him they brought some dessert. 

Jo and Ellen show up after them, and he hugs them both until they shove him away and tell Dean that he's gotta buy them dinner first if they're going to hug like that. 

The last person to show up is Bobby in all his grumpy old fart glory, and Dean's not ashamed to admit he cried almost as hard as he did when he realized Mary was real.

(And not that he'll mention it, but Bobby was crying pretty hard too.)

\-------------------------------------

By the time they all sit down to eat, Dean's face hurts from smiling and his abs are sore from laughing.

Everybody's been getting along so far and Dean and Sam are too stunned to bother trying to figure out how all of these people are here.

Mary, Ellen and Linda made burgers for everyone and Dean moans around the first bite because it's the best thing he's ever eaten. It earns him a motherly thwap on the back of his head that makes him laugh. 

Benny made some sort of rice dish and Dean eats like, three helpings of it because it's  _so fucking good_. 

The fries are homemade and fucking delicious and he doesn't miss the way Jo and Kevin shovel those things down like they're going out of style. 

Charlie and Cas sit on either side of him at the table and they keep bumping against Dean to ground him and let him know this is real. He has no idea how the hell these two morons pulled all of this off but he could kiss them both for it (and he will, later, when he's not eating his second burger). 

Even Sam indulges and eats seconds of everything and Mary babies him like he's a little kid and not a grown man. It makes Dean smile like an idiot to see his brother so happy.

"So, how's it feel to be an old coot like Bobby?" Jo asks him around a mouthful of fries.

Dean lets out a surprised laugh and shakes his head a little, "It's... absolutely fucking surreal." 

Mary squawks a little, "Charlie, please smack my son. Just because you're 36 doesn't mean that you can talk like that, Dean." 

Charlie flicks him on the earlobe with a grin and Dean pouts before shoving her away gently, ignoring her victorious cackle. He smiles sheepishly at Mary after a moment, "Yes m'am." 

\----------------------------------------

Everyone is stuffed to the gills by the time they're done with dinner.

Kevin's sitting diagonal on his chair with his pants undone and his head lolled over the back of it. Jo doesn't look much better, and Charlie's laying on the floor behind the table with her shirt pushed up a little. They all groan in tandem, mumbling something about eating too much. 

Bobby and Benny look like they're thirty seconds away from falling asleep. Linda, Mary, Ellen, Jody and Donna look like they're plotting how they're going to take over the world. Alex and Claire are just looking at everyone like they have no idea what they're doing with these losers.

Dean has his head resting on Cas' shoulder and an arm resting across his belly (thank god he never changed out of his PJ's). 

Cas presses a kiss to the top of his head and Dean's pretty sure that this might be the happiest he's ever been.

\--------------------------------

Eventually they move into the living room where the giant couches Dean and Sam found in one of the storage rooms in the bunker are set up in front of a projector. 

Since there's only a couple presents for him to open, they decide to let Dean do that before anything else. 

Charlie got him every season of Game of Thrones on DVD, plus a Starfleet Captain's shirt. Dean manages to push himself up enough to tackle her in a hug and very narrowly avoid squishing her.

Sam got him a new jacket and a new journal for Dean to use since he finished the old one. Dean smiles and pulls his brother close enough to press a wet kiss to the top of his head and he cackles when Sam makes gagging noises. 

Cas said his present was waiting in their room for later tonight. That earns them both a couple of wolf whistles from around the room.

Dean looks over at Jo and Kevin expectantly.

Jo arches an eyebrow at him, "My presence is a present, Dean Winchester. You're fucking welcome." 

Kevin nods seriously, "What she said." 

\-----------------------------------------

Mary brings out the pie not long after that. It's got those dumb number candles sticking out of it and Dean gets weirdly choked up when he sees it. He's never had those candles before. 

Everybody watches him while they sing happy birthday and when Dean blows out the candles, there's a lot of clapping and cheering (and only half of it is sarcastic). 

Jody brings out the cupcakes they brought for those who don't like pie and Donna tells all of them excitedly that Alex and Claire made them.

The two girls look a little uncomfortable and Dean can't help but grin at them, because he knows neither one of them is terribly fond of him, "They look awesome."

Claire rolls her eyes and grabs one, mumbling, "Whatever." 

They turn on one of the movies that Charlie brought with her and Mary sits smack-dab in the middle of her boys.

Sam, Kevin and Charlie spend a good half of the movie trying to explain the Lord of The Rings universe to the uneducated people in the room and it's absolutely hysterical seeing Linda attempt to explain the intricacies of the movie to Benny while Kevin interrupts to tell her how wrong she is.

Dean turns his head and bumps his nose gently against Cas' temple with a small smile, "Hey... I don't know how you did this." 

Castiel smiles and shifts so his back is resting almost completely against Dean's chest, "You forget that I know people, Dean. Very powerful people." 

He huffs a quiet laugh and grins against the angel's hair, "I don't care how you did it, Cas. Just..." Dean moves so he can kiss his forehead and whispers with as much sincerity as he can muster, " _Thank you_." 

Cas pulls him down into a kiss at an awkward angle and murmurs, "Always for you."

\-----------------------------------------

For the first time since they found this place, every single guest bedroom is taken. Dean doesn't make it back to his room until it's almost 2:30 in the morning. Mary stops him in the hallway, "Dean, can I talk to you for a moment?"

He's exhausted, both emotionally and physically, and he just wants to go crash in bed next to Cas. But it's his mom and he nods before following her back towards the main room.

Mary guides him into one of the chairs and sits in front of him with her hands on his knees, "Dean."

"Mom," he matches her tone of voice with a cheeky grin.

If it looks more strained than it has all day, that may be because it's harder to control the Mark when he's this tired. 

"Castiel told me about what's been going on," she says after a moment.

Dean freezes and looks like he's contemplating the pros and cons of running away but Mary grabs his wrists gently.

"Dean, I want you to know something, okay?" Mary reaches up and cups his face again with one hand, a small smile on her face, "And it's very important so I need you to listen to me, baby. Okay?"

He nods mutely and lets his eyes close. He doesn't want to see the look of disappointment on his mom's face.

Mary's thumb brushes gently over the freckles on his cheeks as she murmurs, "You are a  _good_  man, Dean Winchester."

His eyes snap open in shock and he opens his mouth to protest but Mary shakes her head a little bit.

"You know that I never wanted this for you and your brother," she continues. "I never wanted you two to get into hunting or to even know what all of this was." 

She sighs with a rueful smile, "I guess that saying about tell God your plans and he'll laugh is pretty true, huh?" 

Dean snorts but doesn't say anything.

"Honey, I would give  _anything_  for you to have grown up with a normal life."

The sincerity and regret in her voice makes Dean's whole being ache with a desire to make it better.

"And I know that things have never been easy for you," she murmurs and squeezes his hand. "I know you've screwed up a couple times and I'm sure you've done some things you're not proud of..." 

Dean must wince because she brings her other hand up to cup his face.

"But baby, you - you are such a  _good_  person. You are  **so**  strong, Dean. You are stronger than I ever was," she laughs a little bit, her voice sounding thick.

He leans into her hands and makes a slightly wounded noise. The only reason he's ever been able to be brave is because he wanted to make her proud. 

Mary whispers the next part, "And I need you to know that there is nothing on this planet that can  _ **ever**_  take that away from you." 

He doesn't have to open his eyes to know that she's smiling.

"It doesn't matter what this Mark does to you, honey, because underneath all of that, you're still  _you_. You're still my sweet boy." 

Dean makes a sound like he got punched in the got, "Ma, it's... I'm not. It - it makes me..." He lets out a breath that might be a sob, "I'm a monster."

Mary makes her own wounded noise and her voice is a little bit more forceful, "Dean Winchester, don't you  _ **ever**_  talk about yourself like that." 

She moves so she's kneeling on the floor in front of him and brings their foreheads together. 

"You are an incredibly smart, strong, caring and loving person, Dean Winchester. You are  _ **never**_  a monster. You are everything that I ever hoped you would grow up to be."

Mary sounds so determined to make sure he knows how serious she is.

"I don't know what that thing does to you and I don't know what it makes you do, but honey I can promise you that much. You are not a monster. You are not bad. A monster wouldn't care what it turned them into. A bad person wouldn't feel any remorse over what it made them do."

"Mom," he hates how much his voice cracks, "I  _enjoyed_  it." 

She snorts a little bit and moves back just enough so she can look at his face, "Honey, if what Cas told me was true, I would have enjoyed it too."

It surprises Dean enough that he opens his eyes to laugh quietly.

His mom is smiling at him like he's the most amazing thing she's ever seen.

"Baby I can tell how hard this is for you and how scary it is... but I need you to know that I am so incredibly  _proud_  of you, Dean Winchester. I am so proud of the man you turned into. And the fact that you're beating yourself up over this only proves to me more how much  _good_  there is in you, honey." 

Dean manages a weak smile. He doesn't believe anything she's saying, and he wants to tell her how wrong she is but he can't.

"I am  _ **always**_  going to be proud of you, Dean Winchester." 

Mary leans forward and presses a kiss to his forehead, "Okay?"

Dean wraps his arms around his mom the best he can and nods a little bit, his throat thick, "Yeah. Okay." 

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry i teared up at the ending //flops face first
> 
> happy birthday bby ;u;


End file.
